Monday 13 October 2014
Rudder stock
This is the biggest change to the boat - no idea if it will work yet. Rather than the plates to and bottom, I have fitted a Super Snark (look it up!) plastic gudgeon thing, which happens to be the same pin hole size. Pictures tell it most easily. Neede to put spacers in as the tiller hit the deck. Will alter the stock one day...
Rigging
Time to screw stuff back on. Here, we saw the only other real changes (after the gunwales and colour change) to the boat. Having landed on the central support blocks for the toe straps, they had to go. So, before and after:
Then, time for a bailer. Lets face it, those old Holt bailers aren't the best. So, onto ebay to find an alternative for less than the boat is worth...
Got lucky - a Holt Delta bailer, designed to work at slow speed (well, this is a Minisail) and even better, as old as the boat, but unused! Cutting the hole (a triangle with curved corners) was fun, as it couldn't quite fit right over the old hole, so some filling needed too.
Got there in the end, though:
Bit too much sealant, maybe, but better than a leaking bailer. Had enough of that with the old one!
Then control lines. The cvrda forum proved a great place to find a 3rd cleat to match the 2 for the kicker and even some wedges(thank you Obscured by Clouds!). I was then able to refit the kicker pretty much as before, and then ad a 4:1 Cunningham to replace the old, useless 2:1. The sail doesn't seem to need much cunningham, but it will be nice to be able to adjust it if needed. A picture speaks a thousand words:
Got lucky - a Holt Delta bailer, designed to work at slow speed (well, this is a Minisail) and even better, as old as the boat, but unused! Cutting the hole (a triangle with curved corners) was fun, as it couldn't quite fit right over the old hole, so some filling needed too.
Got there in the end, though:
Then control lines. The cvrda forum proved a great place to find a 3rd cleat to match the 2 for the kicker and even some wedges(thank you Obscured by Clouds!). I was then able to refit the kicker pretty much as before, and then ad a 4:1 Cunningham to replace the old, useless 2:1. The sail doesn't seem to need much cunningham, but it will be nice to be able to adjust it if needed. A picture speaks a thousand words:
Varnish
So, gunwales are on, so then it is time to smarten her up, sand her back and bung some varnish on. Only, of course, being a Minisail, 8 coats of high quality Epiphanes, with perfect, glass like finish taking weeks, didn't seem quite right. That, and I was in a hurry!
So, back to tried and tested G4 sealant. 3 coats in one day. Then wait a couple of days and sand it back, ready for a top coat. This time, however, I thought I'd try the Boanaseal glass version of G4, to see what happened.
Answer, really good. Goes on like G4, but shinyer afterwards. If I was a more patient varnisher, I'm sure it would have looked as good as "real" varnish. As it was, it has given me a smart a 10 paces hard as nails finish - exactly what was needed! Shiny enough on a sunny day, anyway...
So, back to tried and tested G4 sealant. 3 coats in one day. Then wait a couple of days and sand it back, ready for a top coat. This time, however, I thought I'd try the Boanaseal glass version of G4, to see what happened.
Answer, really good. Goes on like G4, but shinyer afterwards. If I was a more patient varnisher, I'm sure it would have looked as good as "real" varnish. As it was, it has given me a smart a 10 paces hard as nails finish - exactly what was needed! Shiny enough on a sunny day, anyway...
Back the right way up
Once the hull was done, it was time to do the top. First up, the gunwales. The ones I'd taken off were, frankly, horrible. Fixed with a brass pin every couple of inches, they pinged off nice and easily, which explained why the edge of the ply was damaged. The glue must have failed decades ago.
Now, in theory, I should have gone and bought a nice long piece of mahogany to replace them with, but this being a Minisail, I thought I'd try something different. So, a quick visit to B&Q and Hombase molding racks (each had one part of what I wanted), I had 18mm quadrant for me to sit out over, and 6mm capping pieces for bow and stern. Front and back glued, the quadrant held with screws.
Sounds like a quick decision putting it like that, but I went through 1/2 a dozen different ideas before settling on that one. Then, make use of epoxy for where they join, and bob's your uncle!
Old gunwales on the floor, new ones on the boat. Not as smart as I was aiming for - too many years not doing carpentry.
Now, in theory, I should have gone and bought a nice long piece of mahogany to replace them with, but this being a Minisail, I thought I'd try something different. So, a quick visit to B&Q and Hombase molding racks (each had one part of what I wanted), I had 18mm quadrant for me to sit out over, and 6mm capping pieces for bow and stern. Front and back glued, the quadrant held with screws.
Sounds like a quick decision putting it like that, but I went through 1/2 a dozen different ideas before settling on that one. Then, make use of epoxy for where they join, and bob's your uncle!
Old gunwales on the floor, new ones on the boat. Not as smart as I was aiming for - too many years not doing carpentry.
Saturday 4 October 2014
Summer been and gone...
... and somehow slowly, slowly Minim got done.
I'll start the photo process again now:
Hull printed, undercoated and painted bright red, using Precision marine paints from Pacer Marine.
Nice paint. Didn't know what to expect. She was then left for a month while we were busy doing other things, which gave it plenty of time to harden. All but the top coat done with rollers, top coat brushed. Not the best finish, but that is down to my limited skills than a problem with the paint.
I'll start the photo process again now:
Hull printed, undercoated and painted bright red, using Precision marine paints from Pacer Marine.
Nice paint. Didn't know what to expect. She was then left for a month while we were busy doing other things, which gave it plenty of time to harden. All but the top coat done with rollers, top coat brushed. Not the best finish, but that is down to my limited skills than a problem with the paint.
Tuesday 15 July 2014
Stripped!
Out with the hot air blower and triangular scraper, off with the paint. In 15 minute bursts, the back didn't give out, and the boat was stripped within a few days, then sanded.
The gunwales were simply pinned on and the glue had failed long before, so a blunt chisel down the gap soon had them prised off - they are certainly not going back on.
However, it turned out that the deck wasn't damaged where the gunwales were, so rather than ripping the decks off, it was out with the hot air gun again and varnish removal. A few hours sanding, and they look rather good. The cockpit was sound, so I have simply sanded that.
That still leaves me with several hundred nails to punch back down into the deck, but I shall worry about that once I've painted the bottom. Just waiting for the primer to arrive, then it will be paint, fill, sand, paint fill, sand etc till she looks smooth enough .
The gunwales were simply pinned on and the glue had failed long before, so a blunt chisel down the gap soon had them prised off - they are certainly not going back on.
However, it turned out that the deck wasn't damaged where the gunwales were, so rather than ripping the decks off, it was out with the hot air gun again and varnish removal. A few hours sanding, and they look rather good. The cockpit was sound, so I have simply sanded that.
That still leaves me with several hundred nails to punch back down into the deck, but I shall worry about that once I've painted the bottom. Just waiting for the primer to arrive, then it will be paint, fill, sand, paint fill, sand etc till she looks smooth enough .
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